day 22: spirit. also in this case I chose to do introspective work. In the scene where Jesper and Wylan enter the villa where little Alby lives, there is a detail: Wylan sees a drawing of the child which portrays him and his father, hand in hand and happy. Wylan's gaze becomes sorrowful, thoughtful, his thoughts fly to his father who always rejected him, underestimated him, humiliated him and then tried to kill him. Pekka is a monster, in the TV show he is portrayed as much crueler than the book, he has cheated children by stealing everything from them, he massacres people who go against him (as seen in the first season and when it is said that he killed Tante Helen) his empire is based on scams.. but he loves his son. he gives him everything. he protects him. he cares about his well-being. Pekka is a criminal of the worst kind but even he feels love for his son and this awareness destroys Wylan. his father's spirit, his cruelty haunts him every time he thinks about it even if we can only see it for a small moment. I found it a heartbreaking scene, the comparison between two fathers, a rich and wealthy merchant who is a heartless monster and a criminal of the worst kind who truly loves his son and does everything to protect him.
day 21 rain. it is a non-canonical rain, not of water but of peach petals. a sweet/bitter rain, full of melancholy. I would have preferred a flashback of Jesper and his mother like in the book but I have to say that the feelings that this meeting / hallucination triggered in me were deep and powerful. the possibility of seeing someone you loved so much again, even if in a dream, and the goodbye full of sadness and hope that comes when you wake up... perfect! one of the scenes together with Jordie and David's death (I think he died) where I cried the most...
day 20 spellbook. ok, I know that only crows should be used and that I'm going off topic and I ask for forgiveness but I really don't know what to use... so, after careful reflection I fell back on Morozova and her amplifiers. an idea that I adored in the book (despite being perplexed about the final battle) and that in the TV series I liked despite everything, even if not totally. the perfect deer. the whip disappointed me. So what is that useless little dragon? the firebird on the other hand was treated well, even if hastily (don't hate me but it's the only thing I liked, besides Matthias and some scenes of Kaz, in the second part, too strange for my tastes and rushed, it significantly lowers the level of show which is a real shame given that I really liked the first part and it was very deep, which the second isn't except for a few scenes alina/ mal and kaz/ inej. at least for me. sorry) so here goes. Alina, mal, baghra and aleksander for today.
day 12 butterfly. well the subject was pretty obvious after the show. as I have said several times, the second part of the TV series, although obviously nice, convinced me much less than the first... it changes the pace too much and is rushed. Shu Han's part is one of those that convinced me the least but the part with the butterflies and Wylan... beautiful! in that little scene we see how this character's witty intelligence has always been underestimated by his father, as the often insecure wylan saves the day (a parallel with jesper in the first season in the fault line, who saves the day shortly after doing that big mess with the coal) here we could have avoided butterflies being the antidote... brrr.
day 10: bottle. at the beginning I wanted to create something related to Kanej, but it seemed a bit obvious to me (also I used this couple for other themes) so I remembered that in the TV series when Wylan and Jesper meet again after their first meeting (I still can't say whether I liked the fact that they already went to bed before falling in love or not (more no than yes, to be honest) Jesper, curious, starts touching Wylan's bottles and he warns him not to do so. it's such a sweet but also funny scene that I wanted to re-propose it. how much I love this couple (and how much I liked the first part of this season! the second more no than yes to be honest. it loses its luster.. rushed and strange. let's hope for the spin of even if I have little hope)
They take walks sometimes. Languid, lazy things. Just a few moments to appreciate how peaceful life can be when you're not faced with a constant war that you can't escape. Other times are swift, jostling things. At the markets and shops. Learning the unseen, unknown nooks and crannies of a new place. Exploring whatever there is to be offered.
Matthias prefers the ones where they're off the beaten path, not surrounded by people and all the noise that they create. He likes the peace and quiet, or more specifically, he likes having Nina all to himself (not in a serial killer sort of way). He likes the reassurance that no one is about to take her away from him or that any moment they could enter some forbbiden territory and have to revert to fighting for their lives, there's been enough of that.
Nina walks beside him, humming a soothing melody that's tinged in childhood, he'll remember to ask her later, unwilling as he is to disturb the moment.
Sunlight flits through the leaves above them, sending rainbow of colors cascading around. Oranges, reds, and greens. This autumn is as picturesque as a scene on a postcard, with its cool breezes, bountiful harvest and bright warm colors.
It's so much more preferable over Fjerda's early snows and Kerch's unrelenting rain showers. Perhaps they return again for it next year, if not for another visit but to avoid the unsavory alternatives.
"We should head back soon, before it gets too late."
Matthias murmurs his assent, wondering if he can discover away to put a lock on time so he can relax like this a little longer. But returning before dusk is probably for the better seeing as how they aren't exactly prepared to face a night in the forest (he has a rifle of course, and Nina, but that's more for if they accidently run into a bear)
He threads their fingers together as they turn around, a gesture that seems less forward here in Ravka and is practically a handshake in Kerch. He's sure that someday he'll grow used to being so open with his affections in a way that's so blatantly obvious.
Nina rambles about her hopes for dinner, insisting the Zoya better pull out all the stops after they travelled all the way here just to see her. How it doesn't matter if she's queen or not she should be a good host for her best friend and use those royal coffers to have something tasty.
"But mostly I'll be happy as long as it's not that crap we had to eat at the Little Palace."
Matthias smiles. Even back then Nina believed that if they were being forced to serve in the country's armed forces they might as well have splurged a little on food so that their soldiers good have a decent meal before being sent to the slaughter.
Traveling around, tasting all the different dishes that were offered had only proved to her that every second spent eating should be a second worth enjoying.
"I'm sure it will be as delicious as last night."
Nina smiles, a dazzling thing, "one can hope."
Matthias is resigning himself to the fact that diner is bound to be another boisterous affair (between Nikolai and Nina there's alot to deal with), when they reach the gate.
"Matty, look."
He's not sure what he's looking at until Nina points enthusiastically to a shaded area next to the gate post.
Someone, a castle servant, has raked up all the leaves near the castle's lower walls and piled them under an oak.
"Let's go," and then she's pulling him, yanking on his arm, to the tree, before he has the chance to even ask what's so exciting.
At the trunk she let's go and starts climbing when the realization of what she's planning to do, finally, dawns him.
"Nina. No."
She grins down at him, "Matty, come on, have some fun for once."
Before he can protest anymore, she gives him a saucy little wave from the lower branches, and leaps down.
Leaves explode from the pile, a brilliant burst of color flying into the air, one of them landing in his hair, another skimming his cheek.
And then Nina. Sitting in the middle of the chaos, laughing like a child. Her face lifted to the sky watching the way they float down like feather. Crowning her head like she's the queen of the forest. She's always been so beautiful.
He knows for certain then. The thing that his heart has always known. The thing that his brain need a while to catch up to. That for her, whether it's off a cliff or into a pile a leaves, he'd take the plunge. (Like he hasn't fallen already)
day 7. leaves. as always my work follows a metaphor and this time it's Matthias' turn: he always had only one purpose in life (both in the TV series and in the books) and that was to be an excellent druskelle to avenge his family and to make his mentor proud. he gave his whole life to this purpose, he really believed in it, to the point of bordering on fanaticism (more in the book). when he loses everything he finds himself like a leaf in the wind, confused, alone, far from home and from everything that is sacred to him. His people have a sacred tree in the center of the ice court where the druskelle take some sort of test to prove they are worthy. Matthias was the best but after Hellgate and Nina he feels lost, no longer worthy, a leaf detached from his tree...
day 5: spicy. in the book, when inej is in the industrial area of ketterdam at a certain point she sees an advertisement for spices depicted by two suli girls with a costume very similar to hers when she worked in the brothel and she thinks back to her years there and how her skin was praised as a precious commodity. in that moment she thinks back to how she has always been seen as an exotic commodity, something to buy and then throw away. so I chose to represent inej and her memory of her years at the menagerie (obviously using the screencaps of the show the material is limited)
